LIVESTREAM: Germany – Game of the Week – Berlin Rebels @Dresden Monarchs, Sat. Sept. 7, 3p CEDT (9a EDT)

The Berlin Rebels (8-5) will be on the road in Dresden Saturday, September 7 when they face the 9-4 Dresden Monarchs in a key showdown to decide home field advantage in the playoffs as the German Football League winds up the regular season.

Dresden, Berlin and the Hilesheim Invaders are jockeying for playoff positions.

If Dresden beats Berlin and Hildesheim wins over Potsdam, then the Monarchs finish second, the Invaders third and Berlin fourth. If Dresden wins and Hildesheim loses, again the Monarchs are second, Invaders third and Rebels fourth. Invaders have won the head-to-head with Berlin.

This is where it gets interesting.

If Berlin wins and Hildesheim also wins, the Invaders finish second with a 10-4 record with the Rebels (9-5) third and Dresden (9-5) ending up fourth. (Berlin would have won both games against Dresden).

If Berlin defeats the Monarchs, and the Invaders lose to Potsdam, that creates a three-way tie for second. Berlin, Dresden and Hildesheim would then all have 9-5 records. So the score of the Berlin-Dresden game becomes crucial. The first tie breaker is the head-to-head meetings between the three. Berlin has beaten Dresden 16-13 and lost to Hildesheim twice, 56-41 and 36-30. Dresden has lost to Hildesheim 31-27 and defeated them  31-14. Hildesheim has the two wins over Berlin and one against Dresden.  A Berlin win and Hildesheim loss would then lead to the second tie breaker which is the points differential between the three teams. As of right now, Dresden has the edge with a +16. Hildesheim is +8 and Berlin -18.

The Rebels defeated Dresden two weeks ago 16-13 in Berlin. Last week the Rebels downed the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 21-9 while the Monarchs defeated the Invaders 31-14 which leads us to this showdown.

The Monarchs started Glen Cuiellette at quarterback last week against Hildesheim and he threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Kevonn Mabon who had 159 yards receiving. In the loss to Berlin a couple of weeks ago, Monarchs running back Glen Toonga had one of his best days running the football, gaining 139 yards. The Berlin front seven kept him out of the end zone but he will be tough to stop today.

The Rebels are on a roll having won their last four games including the victory over Dresden. They are playing with confidence. Quarterback Kurt Palandech has stepped up and has been steady and in last week’s win over Kiel he threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 1,941 and 21 touchdowns since arriving against only four interceptions. TJ Esekielu, Jason Harris and Naji El-Ali  are the leading receivers running back Andreas Betza is always dangerous, both in the backfield and catching the ball. He has rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the last two games while gaining 222 all purpose yards.

This game is a complete toss up with so much at stake.

Watch the game live here. Berlin Rebels @Dresden Monarchs, Sat. Sept. 7, 3p CEDT (9a EDT)